SLIFT Have Finally Learned That Sometimes the Fastest Way to Space… Is Not Taking the Scenic Route
Let’s address the elephant floating somewhere between Earth and Saturn.
SLIFT wrote… shorter songs. We know. We checked twice.
For a band that built its reputation on ten-minute psychedelic expeditions that could easily outlast your attention span (or your stash), ‘FANTASIA’ looked like a dangerous idea. Less runtime? Less wandering? Less « hold on… are we still on the first track? ». Turns out, not every trip needs a detour through five different galaxies.
Still flying under the legendary Sub Pop banner – the label that helped launch Nirvana, Soundgarden and Mudhoney before « grunge » became a marketing department, but also bands such as Death Cab For Cutie, Band Of Horses, Earth, METZ, Sonic Youth or Sunn O))) – SLIFT have done something even harder than writing another ‘UMMON’. They’ve edited themselves. And that’s exactly what makes ‘FANTASIA’ hit so damn hard.
Don’t panic, though. This isn’t the album where the French stoner/psych/krautrock power-trio suddenly discover verse-chorus-verse and start chasing Spotify playlists. It still sounds like Hawkwind and Elder disappeared into a wormhole with King Gizzard, then handed the controls to Kurt Ballou (Converge) for the mix, who proceeded to make everything even heavier.
The difference isn’t ambition. It’s accuracy and extreme precision.
Where ‘UMMON’ and ‘ILION’ often drifted beautifully through endless cosmic landscapes, ‘FANTASIA’ feels laser-guided. Every riff has a purpose. Every build-up earns its payoff. Even the synths – which have quietly become one of SLIFT‘s defining weapons – know exactly when to steal the spotlight before disappearing back into hyperspace.
Jean Fossat deserves special mention. His vocals have never sounded this commanding. Gone are the days of hiding beneath oceans of fuzz. Here, he screams like he’s trying to wake the entire solar system before switching effortlessly into melodies that bring genuine emotional weight to the chaos. Meanwhile, drummer Canek Flores continues to play as if basic human anatomy is merely a recommendation.
Therefore tracks like « Corrupted Sky » and the absolutely colossal « A Storm of Wings » prove that shortening the songs hasn’t made SLIFT any smaller. Quite the opposite. They’ve trimmed the fat without touching the muscle.
Beneath the interstellar visuals lies an album that feels surprisingly grounded. ‘FANTASIA’ explores political unrest, conformity, fear and the strange reality of living in a world that’s permanently refreshing its own apocalypse. Drawing inspiration from the Argentinian writer and essayist Jorge Luis Borges (known for Universal History of Infamy (1935), Ficciones (1944), The Aleph (1949), and The Book of Sand (1975)), SLIFT build a surreal universe where hope survives through resistance rather than naïve optimism.
Heavy? Absolutely. Pretentious? Not for a second.
That’s perhaps ‘FANTASIA’‘s greatest achievement. It never mistakes complexity for intelligence : a trap that plenty of progressive bands fall into headfirst. Instead, SLIFT simply write better songs. Sharper. Heavier. More memorable.
If ‘UMMON’ introduced one of Europe’s most exciting heavy psychedelic bands and ‘ILION’ confirmed it wasn’t a fluke, ‘FANTASIA’ feels like the moment they stop being a cult favourite and start becoming a genuine heavyweight.
Fasten your seatbelt. The French cosmonauts have stopped exploring space. They’re coming back to conquer Earth.
